Marvel Studios’ Panel Plans For Comic-Con 2010

Published 4 years ago
by
Rob Keyes
, Updated July 20th, 2010 at 7:15 am,

It’s been a big month for Marvel Studios news and if the earlier report about their plans for San Diego Comic-Con has any truth to it, it got a lot bigger.

A few weeks ago we wrote about the rumor that the folks at Marvel were looking into the strategy of introducing members of their vast line-up of lesser known characters through short films attached to the theatrical releases of their tentpole big budget superhero epics. What that means for us moviegoers is that, like Disney does with Pixar films (remember, Disney owns Marvel now), we could start seeing The Avengers among other upcoming flicks showcasing 10-minute shorts for the likes of Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Dr. Strange and other characters the studio is interested in adding to their growing franchise.

It made total sense and while unconfirmed, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if Marvel goes down that path.

All of this represents only what has happened over the last few months, with much of it occurring just in the last few weeks no less. What happens next week at San Diego Comic-Con when director Kenneth Branagh shows up to debut the first ever Thor trailer for Marvel Studios? What else will they show? What other movies will they tease or announce? What surprises will keep fans talking for months and months after the event closes?

Comic-Con is the most exciting time of the year for comic book fans and most especially, comic book movie fans. Last year we were treated to the wildly entertaining Iron Man 2 panel, but this year we’re likely getting so much more. After all, Marvel has two feature films debuting next year in Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America. On top of that, they have started preliminary work on The Avengers among other properties mentioned above and, unlike last year, we can expect competition from Warner Bros. who will start the ball rolling with Green Lantern and their upcoming slate of movies.

Suffice to say, we expect big things from this year and according to [an anonymous source] we’ll be getting just that. The [source] has revealed plans for Marvel Studios’ panel at Comic Con from one of those infamous “well-connected” people. Let’s go through the four points one at a time:

1. “I have it on good authority that Ed Norton is returning and, depending on scheduling, he’ll be appearing alongside Renner et al for the official announcements at SDCC.”

Possibly the largest enigma about Marvel Studios casting is that of Edward Norton and the character he played so well, Bruce Banner (aka The Hulk). Since The Incredible Hulk, it’s been nothing but a battle of words and confusion between Norton, Marvel Studios and us, the fans. While we knew it was unlikely that we would get to see The Incredible Hulk 2 anytime soon, it was almost law that he would have to be back to play the role in The Avengers. We were wrong.

My thoughts: This had been part of the plan all along. Norton’s a fan and he continued to say it’s up to the fans (i.e. us). Of the dozen posts I’ve written about Ed Norton as Bruce Banner and my desire to see him back, there’s been overwhelming positive response and agreement to this idea.

What an elaborate scheme this would be if it were all a ruse and he did show up on stage?

What about the Renner part of that statement? Towards the end of May, we heard the rumor that Oscar-nominated bad-ass actor Jeremy Renner was about to sign on with Marvel Studios to play Hawkeye in The Avengers, confirming age-old rumors that he could play the character after meeting with Marvel long ago to discuss it. Just three weeks ago, it was confirmed that he was in fact in final negotiations to play Hawkeye but we’ve yet to hear the big confirmation that he’s officially signed. Do not be surprised if this happens at the panel at Comic-Con. Be even less surprised if the 6000 attendees packed into the room go absolutely insane at this announcement.

2. “There will be an Avengers thingamajig with Whedon (who may or may not be there via telecast, he’s currently in London with the Cap crew and he may or may not be too busy to fly out), Renner and others depending on their schedules (notably Norton).”

Yeap, of course there will be. The Avengers begins production early next year for its 2012 summer release and we just know they’ve been saving some big announcements for this for Comic-Con.

Even though there’s been a lack of official word on it, we know Joss Whedon is directing and helping re-write the script for The Avengers. A geek icon taking the reins of the most ambitious geek movie ever sounds promising, but we’ve yet to see Whedon ride success at the box office. That will no doubt change two years from now and we can most certainly expect him to make an appearance one way or another.

He’s at home on the convention circuit and we know now that he’ll be there in person, possibly to unleash some big surprises of his own on the crowd. Since joining the fray, Whedon’s been involved with Captain America along with his own Avengers movie and we also know he’s met with Edgar Wright, likely to discuss Ant-Man and his introduction in The Avengers (insert Nathan Fillion rumor).

I should also note that Edgar Wright will be at Comic-Con as well with Michael Cera to promote Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

3. “We’re getting the expected massive Thor panel complete with footage/trailer, poster and images. There will be a Cap panel and the plan is currently to have Johnston, Evans, and Weaving there via telecast as they will still be hard at work in London. We should see a poster and pics.”

We know the first part already in that the Thor teaser trailer would premiere at Comic-Con, but how much we’ll get to see from The First Avenger: Captain America and its cast remains a question. Since it hits theaters during San Diego Comic-Con next year, it needs to leave some sort of mark this summer even though it’s just beginning production in the next few weeks.

As far as we know, there’s no press for the Captain America cast – it’s all aimed at Kenneth Branagh and his cast for Thor.

4. “Feige also hopes to announce the Dr. Strange director at some point during SDCC.”

We just found out about the writers for Dr. Strange so it wouldn’t be off the mark for a director selection in the coming month. The question remains as to what movie(s) will accompany The Avengers in the summer of 2012. Marvel wants two full-length features a year with the goal of bumping it up to four. If they get more backing from Disney to do more, if they go about micro-budget films for their secondary characters or even short films for them, we could see quite a few Marvel movies between 2012-2013.

Two announcements I would like to see from Marvel is an idea of the full roster for The Avengers and a confirmation on their upcoming line-up and schedule of films: Ant-Man? Runaways? Luke Cage? Heroes for Hire? S.H.I.E.L.D.? The Avengers 2? The Incredible Hulk 2? Dr. Strange?

As cool and awesome (and on my part, expected) as this could all be, what a let down if this is but another completely made-up-for-attention rumor. All of it is based on recent news items and rumors so it could just be someone saying the obvious or playing the guessing game. Think of it as a discussion and opportunity for you to voice your predictions.

The official lowdown on Marvel Studio’s panel is very vague so let your imagination fill in the full description:

Marvel Studios: Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger

6:00pm-7:00pm – Hall H

Producer Kevin Feige and special guests give you an inside look at the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Time will tell and that time comes soon. I’ll be their reporting live as it happens from SDCC so follow me on Twitter @rob_keyes and our main feed @screenrant and let us know your thoughts.

Thor opens May 5, 2011; The First Avenger: Captain America hits July 22, 2011 and The Avengers is scheduled to debut May 4, 2012. We’ll find out what comes next at San Diego Comic-Con this week!